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In Search of a Final Accident

From First Thoughts

David Brooks links to some of the best magazine writing of the past year, and one of the articles is about the origin of the universe. In The Accidental Universe, Alan Lightman tells the story of how the fine-tuning of our universe has driven theoretical physicists to postulate the idea of a . . . . Continue Reading »

The Curious Case of Robert Gundry

From First Thoughts

Ivan Karamazov worried that if God is dead then all things are permissible. Likewise, so evangelicals have been told, if there is no magisterial authority, then all biblical interpretations are permissible. But even if this is not the case, we could still argue that “biblicism” results . . . . Continue Reading »

The Moral Landscape (a review)

From First Thoughts

Does science have anything to tell us about the nature of morality? Could use of the scientific method help us apprehend the nature of good and evil? Sam Harris certainly thinks so as he appeals to the burgeoning field of neuroscience as the pathway to discovering objective moral facts. For example, . . . . Continue Reading »

The Facebook Fallacy

From First Thoughts

In the wake of the Anthony Weiner scandal, the Washington Post’s calls attention to the modern phenomenon of the ‘e-fair.’ This is nothing new, of course, as social media sites like Facebook have been reported in divorce cases as contributing to the end of marriages. Yet the WaPo . . . . Continue Reading »

Taylor, Bell, and Bull

From First Thoughts

If you haven’t already heard, Rob Bell is being judged. Or so say his defenders in the wake of a post by Justin Taylor that concluded that Bell “is moving farther and farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity.” Perhaps there is something to question in saying . . . . Continue Reading »

A Scholar’s Prayer

From First Thoughts

A university faculty prayer inspired by the Chorister’s Prayer of the Royal College of Church Music. Adapted by the CS Lewis FoundationBless, O Lord, us your servants,Who are called to scholarly vocations.Grant that what we apprehend with our mindsand profess through our wordsMay be grounded . . . . Continue Reading »

I Told Me So

From First Thoughts

Gregg Ten Elshof’s I Told Me So is one best books I’ve read this year. In it he meditates on the fascinating phenomenon of self-deception, and lists a variety of ways we manage our beliefs to avoid the unpleasant consequences of truth. As we go through life we are offered a deal: believe . . . . Continue Reading »

The ‘Sanctification Gap’

From First Thoughts

In 1973, Richard Lovelace penned an important article detailing the causes of an acute problem that persists in the lives of many evangelical Christians. He calls it the “sanctification gap” and zeros in on the history of Protestantism to explain why evangelicals have so many problems . . . . Continue Reading »